My Plecosamus

[randy86]

Be careful the male will run her *** to death!

 

[alia258]

I don't understand what your *** is supposed to mean, please tell me.

 

[randy86]

Another name for butt but the web side edits my bad words sorry . But yeah the male can and alit of time will run the female to death

 

[alia258]

I'm hoping to get a tank that sits on the side of the aquarium and the water between the two will be shared. The tank itself is 2g, and is meant to keep the seperated fish in the same water as the tank without actually being in the tank. 2g is plenty for my 1 1/2 inch female, but if I transfer her as soon as I get it (probly next week if I'm lucky) will something bad happen to her or the guppies?

 

[alia258]

The fry, not guppies, sorry

 

[siva]

Here's my babies

NICE!!

Randy!!! Your pleco is ginormous!!!!! That's amazing! Mine is about 5 1/2 inches long, and the pet store told me he was just a common one. He's still growing, but because his home is a ten gallon he's not going to make it to full size, unless I get a bigger tank. Either way he's happy and healthy! I love his reddish color, it's so pretty! I'll have to get a pic of him upside-down sucking algae off the decor in my tank! He's so cute! I like his markings, even though he went from dark blue to reddish, he's kept those lighter markings on him ^^ he likes the large amount of algae that grow on my one plastic plant and the ruins decorations! You know what? He nearly died when I got him! He wouldn't move, it started the second week I got him! There was a spike in the levels and the water got so nasty and I couldn't get it out! Then I discovered that if I use the water from the filtered thing from the sink (it cleans out chlorine, fluorine, and puts minerals in, to be healthy drinking water) and then stress coat, the water is so much healthier. And now the tanks inhabitants live in good for you drinking water ^^

Keeping a common pleco in a 10 gal tank is quite cruel. I encourage you to rehome it right away if you cannot provide a 125 gal + tank for it.

 

[randy86]

Well if she is a gully she is prone to eating her own fry. I have a.little plastic basket like deal that floats in my tank and keep lom seperated and babies seperated pretty good

 

[alia258]

Haha that's my issue, I don't want to use one of those floating baskets or birthing boxes that go in the aquarium, they're just too much trouble! I plan on using that thing that hangs on the side (as described earlier) and putting lots of fake plants for the babies to hide in, that way there is no moving the female just before birth, and the stress level is greatly reduced, and the babies can escape a fry eating momma! ^^

 

[alia258]

Oh and about my pleco, the maximum tank size I can fit in my room is a 30g, that will extend the time I have to keep him and maybe I can leave him in there ^^ I plan on gathering up a albino pleco as they grow to be 3" max and have all the benefits of a normal size pleco, but smaller! He will live in the 10g (if I can keep both) and Oscar will live in the 20/30g (if I get one) ^^

 

[siva]

Your pleco is already too large for a 20/30 gal. If you care about that fish you'll ask a local fish store to adopt it out for you, or rehome it yourself.

 

[alia258]

What are you talking about? He's 5 1/2 inches! Isn't the rule 1 inch of fish=1 gallon of tank water? He's not like a foot long or anything. Or am I missing something here?

 

[Gboy66]

What are you talking about? He's 5 1/2 inches! Isn't the rule 1 inch of fish=1 gallon of tank water? He's not like a foot long or anything. Or am I missing something here?

You are missing somthing. That rule is not even close to reality. Could a 10 inch oscar live in a 10 gallon tank? Nope.

Your pleco (very handsome by the way) could and will be stunted if left in a small tank like yours. He might look like he can fit, but his insides will still grow internally even though he doesnt grow externally.

Your little guy will basically be crushed from within

 

[Aquarist27]

The pleco at my LFS. About a foot and half in a 100g tank with a bunch of gold fish

 

[alia258]

That's the point of a 30g though, can't I keep the ratio for him 1"=2g or something? He's my favorite fish ever! I don't want to give him up (and especially not to some pet store!!!) please, you gotta help me think of something better than giving him away!

 

[siva]

No, the rule is not 1" of fish per gallon of water.

I'll give you some examples of how to properly stock plecos. A dwarf pleco that reaches about 4" is great for tanks 29 gals or more. Some hobbyists do feel plecs this size are OK in 20 gals, but IMO 29 is a better fit for them. A pleco of about 5" works great in a 40 gal tank. A pleco of about 6"-7" will work in a 55 gal. A 10" plec would need atleast an 80 gal. A 16" pleco would need atleast a 125 gal. When stocking you must consider the fish having room to live it's life comfortably, and especially not to have painful internal stunting. Pleco's create a lot of waste, and need larger water volumes than a lot of fish because of this, not to mention good filtration. If you followed the inch per gallon rule, you could have a 10" pleco in a 10 gal tank. Of course that doesn't make any sense.

 

[Gboy66]

That's the point of a 30g though, can't I keep the ratio for him 1"=2g or something? He's my favorite fish ever! I don't want to give him up (and especially not to some pet store!!!) please, you gotta help me think of something better than giving him away!

I totally get it. Unfortunatly 1"-2g isnt reliable either, but better i guess!

He could stay in the 30 for a bit more, but there are no long-term options. Just get him as large a tank as possible, and do frequent water changes and have good filtration because all of Oscar's waste

 

[Alyxx]

You are missing somthing. That rule is not even close to reality. Could a 10 inch oscar live in a 10 gallon tank? Nope.

Your pleco (very handsome by the way) could and will be stunted if left in a small tank like yours. He might look like he can fit, but his insides will still grow internally even though he doesnt grow externally.

Your little guy will basically be crushed from within

Gboy (btw, my iPad autocorrects your name to goby, haha) is right. The effects of stunting start when they're young, so you will want to move him as soon as you can. Even a bristle nose (probably what you were referring to when you said an albino, albino bristlenoses are fairly common) needs a 20 gallon maximum. Part of their large tank requirements come from their large bioloads. Plecos, especially commons, poop a LOT. They foul water quickly, so they need large volumes so that they don't overwhelm the water and make it toxic too quickly. Apart from the well being of the pleco, moving him would also be beneficial to the guppies because the water will be cleaner longer.

That being said, he is adorable and I really hope you can find a way to properly home him so you can keep him.

 

[siva]

That's the point of a 30g though, can't I keep the ratio for him 1"=2g or something? He's my favorite fish ever! I don't want to give him up (and especially not to some pet store!!!) please, you gotta help me think of something better than giving him away!

1" per 8 gals would be more like it.

 

[alia258]

Man I want to keep my fishie mine! Gosh darn it! Not happy now

 

[siva]

I totally get it. Unfortunatly 1"-2g isnt reliable either, but better i guess!

He could stay in the 30 for a bit more, but there are no long-term options. Just get him as large a tank as possible, and do frequent water changes and have good filtration because all of Oscar's waste

I'm sorry, but I really don't think that's the right attitude. As large as possible, if only a 30 gal, is simply not good enough for a common pleco.